


Our Story with Pictures

by Megane



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Animal Calls, Bonding, Comedy, Everything's the Same But..., Fighting, Impersonations, Inspired by Music, Kidding Around, Lazy Mornings, Mysterious Discoveries, Narrative Cheating, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Playing with Food, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Snapchat, Unexpected Skills, brief drama, business as usual, playing music, puns, snapchat au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 08:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5660446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything's the same, but the boys use Snapchat. They also have inexplicably good reception in areas where they shouldn't. Roll with it, okay?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Good Morning, Sunshine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contrary to the title, there are no actual pictures. Another collection of one-offs! Y'all're gonna kill me with all these WIPs I'm giving you. I've never used Snapchat, so this is basically speculation on how I assume it works.

It was early morning. Too early in Noctis' opinion. He wasn't sure of the exact time, but he could just _feel_ it. Another thing he could just feel was the temperature. It was way too hot in this room. He had removed his shirt in his sleep because it was a bit muggy, but the fact that it hadn't lifted was a problem. He opened his eyes and squinted at the windows. The blinds were just slightly cracked, the curtains completely drawn. The sunlight had an orangish tint. Probably because of the blinds. He brought an arm over his face and attempted to go to sleep.

But he noticed that something was missing. He could hear Prompto breathing beside him. Sitting up a bit, Noctis looked over to the other bed, and sure enough, Ignis and Gladiolus were gone. The prince sighed and leaned back against the bed again. He stared up at the ceiling and, after a moment, reached his hand off the bed for his phone charger. He pulled his phone up by its cord until it was in the palm of his hand. He turned the device over, unlocked it, and navigated to Snapchat.

He angled his phone, made sure his eyes and the top of his head were in frame. He made sure his brows were nicely furrowed before snapping the photo.

 **where r u??** He shot off the captioned picture to Ignis before lowering the phone down onto his bare chest. He turned his head to the left. Prompto was laying on his side, bare back to Noctis. His breathing was soft but even. Noctis waited a moment before reaching up a hand to poke at a particularly dark freckle in the center of Prompto's back.

He didn't get to poke it.

His phone vibrated intensely on his chest. Noctis picked up the device with his other hand, staring at the reply. Ignis sent a short video. The sunlight flashed on the screen for a brief second as the camera turned around. Gladio was standing near the car, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. Ignis stepped into frame and pointed his thumb at a strip mall. The one business that Noctis could clearly see in frame was a diner.

**  
Just out with Gladio. Did you just wake up?  
  
**

Noctis sent another picture of his profile from the right side. This time Prompto's side was in view. Noctis side eyed and scowled at the camera.

**  
yup laying around its 30° in here  
  
**

As he lowered his phone, an idea came to his mind. He rolled onto his right side and opened the side table. He fished for anything to write with. At first, he found a pen. He popped the cap and scribbled experimentally on a pad of paper. It worked for about five seconds. He reached into the drawer again and found a marker. An experimental scribble. The marker was thick and consistent. He smiled cattishly and looked back towards Prompto.

The blond squirmed marginally, only causing Noctis to stop his drawing every now and again. As he connected his lines again, Noctis laughed victoriously and capped the marker again. He picked up his phone and snapped a new photo. Apparently, Ignis had sent him a message, but it would have to wait for now.

**  
check this out  
  
**

Noctis took a photo of Prompto's back, making sure that the blond was in frame as well. He smirked to himself as he added his caption and sent it to Gladio.

**  
Little dipper. Nice.  
  
**

Gladio was smirking with a thumbs up in frame. After viewing that, Noctis went to check Ignis' reply to his last snap. He debated about sending the freckle constellation photo to Ignis as well when his phone vibrated. He checked his latest message.

**  
TFW no Ignis.  
  
**

There was a brief video of Gladio in frame, spinning around to show that he was indeed alone. A thick brow was raised and his mouth was tilted to the side as he scratched his head. When he made it a complete 180, he shrugged his shoulders and looked off to the side. The video repeated one more time, but Noctis backed out of it.

As Noctis formulated what his response was going to be, Prompto woke up with a soft groan. He pulled his phone from under his pillow and pulled it closer. He had one notification from Snapchat, and aside from that, nothing else. Not surprising.

He opened the app and saw that it was Ignis with a mug of coffee, brows raised as he stared into the camera.

 **  
Rise & shine, Prompto. HH is already up**.

Prompto snorted and glanced over his shoulder. Noctis actually was awake. Would ya look at that. He flopped his head back onto the pillow, missing the curious glance thrown his way. Instead, he went to make a new message. He tucked his left arm under the pillow and put on his best, sleepiest smile for the camera. Taking a picture he deemed great enough, he drew his arm from under the pillow and quickly typed a caption.

 **  
hey, cindy.** followed by a relaxed, close-eyed smiley face.

He navigated his _send to_ list with barely opened eyes and hit send. It was only when the opaque confirmation ✔︎ **Sent to GladIgNoct** flashed on his screen did he realise his blunder.

He took another picture with his hand over his face, not needing to pose to show off his embarrassment. He wasn't sure who to send it to, so he sent it to Gladiolus first and then Ignis.

 **oh damn you're not cindy!!!!** followed by nine embarrassed emojis (all of which were, unfortunately for him, in his 'frequently used' section). Prompto would just have to take his teasing from Noctis in person. He sighed to himself and clenched his pillow with both arms. He groaned into the pillow, even louder as his phone vibrated against his ribs. He just wanted to ignore his dumb, sleep-addled mistake.

     “How'd you even manage that?” Noctis asked. The smile was evident in his voice.

     Prompto groaned again. “Augh, don't look at it.”

     “Too late,” Noctis replied coolly. “Already saved it.”

     Prompto brought up his head and stared at Noctis incredulously. “You didn't!”

     “Sure did, look.”

Prompto was quick to move, not believing that Noctis had managed to save his photo. But unfortunately for him, right there with a dramatic halo of light was his own face. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hand.

     “That is so embarrassing.”

     “Yeah it is.” With that, Noctis moved his left arm out and wrapped it around Prompto's neck.

Prompto groaned as Noctis yanked him closer. His cheeks were smushed between Noctis' bicep and forearm. The prince angled his phone over their heads and flashed an uneven grin at the camera.

He let go of his friend to send off a message to “4eyed titan”, aka Gladio and Ignis.

He wrote, very simply, **dumbass** with a peace sign emoji before and after the word. After the second peace sign was a squinted eye-tongue out emoji and a donkey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Group messaging is the devil. Poor Prompto he's fun to mess with.


	2. Puns and Hunger.

     “Where are those two?” Ignis asked, crossing his arms.

     “No idea,” Noctis said, walking up to the advisor. His eyes were glued to his phone screen. When he was just about even with Ignis, he lowered his phone away.

Ignis sighed and placed his hands on his hips. Noctis gave Ignis a once over and snorted a laugh. The advisor turned and looked to his charge. Seeing that Noctis wasn't looking at his phone, Ignis asked,

     “Something funny, Your Highness?” as he turned to stare at the boulevard.

     “Nothing,” Noctis replied with a smile on his face. “Just you look like a nanna is all.”

     “I… beg your pardon?”

     “You heard me, fancy britches.” Noctis moved to sit on the stairs. He placed his elbows on his knees. “You look like you're gonna yell at them for being late for curfew.”

     “I do not,” Ignis protested, a big huffy at the accusation.

     Noctis lifted up his phone, twisting back to look at his friend. “Want me to take a picture?”

     “Absolutely not.”

Ignis waved Noctis away, and the prince only smiled at the denial. Ignis took the few steps forward before hiking up his pants a bit and taking a seat next to Noctis. The prince took a picture of the boulevard and saved it in his phone for a later date. Ignis pulled his mobile from his jacket's inner pocket. Just in time to receive a message.

**  
Snapchat**

**PROMPTO » heading back now! see you…**

  
Ignis tapped on the notification and looked at the photo. Gladio was driving, always a rare sight, and Prompto was leaning against his shoulder to take a picture.

  
Two grinning emotions preceded **heading back now! see you in 5!!!**

  
Dangerous. Ignis made a note to talk to him about that.

He swiped right to bring up the home menu. Just as he did, a new message from Prompto appeared. He accepted, and this time, it was a video.

When it started, Prompto was in the middle of laughing. He quieted down as Gladio glanced over quickly.

**  
[four cry-laughing emojis]**

     “ _Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda?”_

     “ _Nuh-uh,”_ was Prompto's cheery reply.

     “ _He was lucky it was a soft drink.”_

     Prompto snorted, a smile in his voice even as he said, _“That's so laaaame, dude!”_

     “ _Hey, you laughed.”_ Gladio glanced over again, smiling at his friend.

And the video went dead.

Ignis tapped to replay it when he felt Noctis lean over. The prince pressed his cheek to Ignis' shoulder and watched the video. He rolled his eyes and snorted a laugh.

     “Weak,” he muttered as he pulled away.

     “Prompto says they'll be here soon. It'll be about five minutes.”

     “Great,” Noctis said. He groaned as he stood up. “Wanna get something to eat?”

He pointed to a food cart across the street and a bit down the sidewalk. Ignis stood and dusted off his pants. He glanced over to where Noctis was pointing and nodded.

     “Why not? We've time to kill.”

They headed over, and when they arrived, Noctis' eyes lit up as an idea came to mind.

Noctis insisted that he pay for the food, if only because it would be quicker for him to put his idea into motion. Ignis let him but then lingered for a moment as he thought about what to get to drink. Noctis would let him pay for the drink himself. He had something to do.

Noctis adjusted the food in his hand, holding all four of his corndogs by their sticks. He quickly opened up the camera and took a picture.

 **  
** **[smug smiing emoji] yolo**

He smiled to himself as he shot it off to Prompto. He realised belatedly that Ignis was in the background, sipping his canned drink as he stared flatly at the camera.

     “Tell me you're not planning on eating all of those,” Ignis stated when beside his prince.

     “But that would be lying,” Noctis teased, smile growing as he spoke.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and switched for two corndogs. Two in each hand, perfect balance. Ignis shook his head as they stepped away from the cart vendor.

Noctis took his victory as he bit into two corndogs at a time. Meanwhile, Ignis wondered when Noctis forgot all of his etiquette training.


	3. Morning Vocabulary.

It was about seven in the morning when his phone went off on his chest. Noctis groaned softly and picked up his mobile, holding it above his head.

**  
SNAPCHAT**

**FOUR EYES » ??????…  
  
**

Noctis smirked sleepily at the screen. A part of him wanted to put his phone down until he was more awake, but his thumb was already swiping right to unlock his phone.

It was a video. Noctis squinted his eyes as he lowered down the volume. Prompto was dancing in the parking lot of a petrol station. He rocked to the right, bowing his head against his curled right arm, and then repeated it over to the left. There was music playing, but Noctis wasn't awake enough to decipher the lyrics.

**  
?????? What is this dance?**

_'Prompto… We need to leave… Quit dabbing.'_

          Prompto laughed and stopped dancing. _'Coming!'_

And that was the end of the video. Noctis wheezed out a laugh before a pillow hit him in the face.

     “Quiet down, Grandpa. Some of us are trying to sleep,” Gladio grumbled as he pulled his pillow back.

     “How the tables have turned,” Noctis replied after saving the video. “And _how old_ are _you_ again?”

     “Keep talking like that and you won't live to see my age.”

     “Bad man,” Noctis said with a smile before yawning.

He rolled onto his side and placed his phone beside his pillow. He was happy to get a few more hours of sleep. He only woke up for a moment when Ignis and Prompto returned, but order was restored almost immediately after.

At about ten, everyone was still, surprisingly, asleep. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio woke up slightly hearing Noctis laugh to himself. “Dabbing,” the prince mumbled in his dreams.

Ignis groaned; Prompto grinned; and Gladio couldn't help but laugh himself.


	4. Chaperons Alone.

     “You two stay in the area. We'll be back as soon as we can,” Gladio instructed. Noctis stared at him flatly, and Prompto just groaned.

     “Aaw! Can't we come with you?” the blond asked.

     “You could, but Ignis and I already know what we're getting. You two will just get distracted.”

     “I won't,” Noctis replied lowly as he looked away.

     Gladio raised a brow and leaned to his left, looking to Noctis. “You're right. You won't. You'll just flop against me and slow down the process.”

     Noctis crossed his arms and smirked, though he was still looking away. After a second, he turned his head towards Gladio. “You never complained before.”

     “I'm filing one now. Go collect some frogs.” Gladio reached forward and ruffled the mop of blond hair under his palm. “Be back soon. Don't get lost.”

Prompto reached up his hands and swatted at Gladio's, scowling at him as he reached up to fix his hair. Gladiolus just laughed to himself as he headed towards the car. Ignis was leaning against the passenger door. His left hand was set on the door; his right was busy with the phone.

     “Ready to head out?” Gladio asked when he was within earshot.

     “Surely.” Ignis stood up straight and tucked the phone away in the inner pocket of his blazer.

Gladio began to step around the car but froze when Ignis opened the passenger side door. Gladio chuckled and walked back to the driver side.

     “So I'm driving now?”

     “Everyone should get a chance,” Ignis replied coolly as he sat down.

The doors closed in unison, and the two strapped themselves in.

     “Except Noctis,” Gladio replied. He looked over to his companion with a smirk on his face.

     Ignis fetched the keys and handed them over to Gladio. “Yes. Except him.”

Gladio laughed and placed the key in the ignition. The Regalia's engine roared before settling to a low purr. The bodyguard raised his brows and tenderly stroked the steering wheel, appreciating the power the luxury car had. He switched into drive. Before he took off, he glanced over to his right towards where Prompto and Noctis were. He could make out Prompto walking backwards, doing some sort of dance as he did. Noctis watched on – what kind of expression he was making, Gladio couldn't tell. With that in mind, Gladio pulled out of the parking space, made a careful U-turn, and rode past the city limits.

Ignis hung his arm over the side of the car, staring out at the passing scenery. The hills were small and gentle. In the background, there were tilted and bare trees. Behind them were the hazy silhouettes of old and ruined buildings. He sighed out of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the ride as they went on.

     “Don't fall asleep on me,” Gladio gently teased, keeping his gaze forward on the road. He drove with an elbow resting on the driver door and his other hand was resting on the bottom of the steering wheel. His posture was relaxed, but it was just in his nature to be easygoing.

     “Now I understand why the prince sleeps on the road. It can be very relaxing,” Ignis replied, lips curled up in a slight smile.

Gladiolus just snorted and tipped his head slightly to his right. They drove for about twenty minutes and took a beaten path towards a hillside village. They parked their car with a few others outside the main gate and took beaten brick path into town.

They needed a few supplies, including items for weapon repair and maintenance. They traded and sold a lot of their older supply for extra gil.

As Ignis walked towards a weapons shoppe, he noticed a long line of people. He raised his brows as he passed, wondering what it all was for. When he was near the front of the line, he saw two identical banners strung up in the display windows of a tech store.

          “ _Come buy the Shiva Brand Smart Watch! Get yours for only 2500 Gil!!”_

Ignis stopped in his tracks and pulled out his phone immediately.

Gladio was on the other side of the village, closer towards the main entrance. He was listening to a shopkeep's sales pitch when his phone vibrated. He nodded his head and pulled out his mobile.

**SNAPCHAT**

**MOTHER HEN » Oh, absolutely not. ...  
  
**

Gladio felt himself get a bit curious as he stared at the notification. As much as he wanted to swipe it, he was still listening to the salesman. The sales pitch was all around worthless because Gladio already knew what he was planning on buying, but hey. Who knew how long this guy had been practicing his bit.

When he finally had a moment alone, Gladio absentmindedly walked down the length of the stall. He finally opened up the app to see what Ignis was disapproving of.

**Oh, absolutely not. [disapproving emoji]**

     It was a short video of Ignis walking towards a tech shoppe. The camera switched to the left and right display windows, showing off the  
     promotional signage. In the next moment, the camera was on Ignis as he walked away. His expression was humorously incredulous.

Gladio snorted and looked at the display of food beside him. Ah, there we go. He pointed to a whole crate of rare yellow fruit as he took a picture.

**36 Paopu for 18G. [flex emoji]  
  
**

He shook his head as he sent off his message and soon tucked his phone into his back pocket. How could anyone spend that much money on a watch. He just couldn't imagine.

The two met up again a couple of hours later, carrying bags and boxes of new supplies. They deposited their findings into the trunk, and Ignis rolled his arm, trying to adjust for the pain in his shoulder. Gladio took a picture of the trunk (and Ignis off to the side looking uncomfortable).

 **Let's Lock & Load, Boys.** he wrote before sending it off to “Double Trouble” in his group contacts. He placed his phone away, and Ignis closed the trunk, realising his friend was done.

     “Ready?” Gladio asked, reaching over to pat Ignis on the back.

The advisor nodded and lowered his arms stiffly. Gladio rumbled out an “Awww” as he kneaded Ignis' forearm with one hand. The attention was short lived, however. The two piled back into the Regalia and took the beaten path back to the main road.

Hopefully, the two imps hadn't gotten themselves into any trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the formatting keeps changing with this story. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to deliver it. Hope you guys don't mind too much! Also, yay for new updates.


	5. Surprises All Around.

Huge, thick clouds passed through the sky. There weren't many, but the ones that passed over the Sun cast long shadows over the earth.

     “Hey, hey, whoa. How'd you save your snaps?” Prompto asked, sitting beside Noctis on the passenger door.

     “You gotta download the extension, lemme show ya.”

Noctis leaned closer towards Prompto, navigating the app store with some idle gestures. Prompto smiled down at the screen, and Noctis sat up straight, looking down at his own phone. There was a heavy silence; Prompto looked contemplative.

     “Hey, Noct. I don't think we get good reception out here.”

Silence fell again; the two of them extended up their arms, holding their phones to the sky. After about two minutes, Noctis let out a long, thoughtful hum.

     “Nah. I don't think so either.”

     “That blows. I thought these were satellite or whatever.”

     “Me too.”

The two drew their arms back towards themselves, and Noctis shrugged up a shoulder.

     “Anyway, just download that, and it's pretty easy to follow.”

     “What else didja save?”

     Noctis smirked. “Let me show you.”

Noctis went back to his home screen and tapped on a section called “meeeh”. Prompto snorted at the name but waited as Noctis navigated through his video folder. Noctis tapped on a video and turned his phone sideways, leaning closer towards Prompto.  


_The video was shaky because the person holding it was laughing. Ignis stared at the screen with a flat expression. Four chocobo emojis  
     and two irritated symbols were captioned._

_Ignis blinked slowly at the screen before averting his gaze slightly, looking to the one behind the phone._

          “ _This is the last time,” Ignis warned, raising up a finger._

          “ _Last time,” Gladio agreed. His voice shook from restrained laughter._

_Hearing it, Ignis rolled his eyes but continued anyway. He swung his hands up and cupped them around his mouth, arched his back, and  
     let out a very loud but extremely convincing chocobo cry._

_Gladio snorted. Ignis dropped his hands and stared flatly at Gladio once again._

  
     “Oh my God,” Prompto said in a rush. He brought a hand up and cupped Noctis' as he stared at the screen wide eyed. “Play it again.”

     “Sure,” Noctis said. He tapped the video with a smirk and played the video again.

When Ignis and Gladio came back to the car – looking a bit worse for wear – Prompto was staring at Ignis in wonder. Ignis raised a brow, but before he could speak, Prompto leaned against the back passenger door.

     “You know, Iggy. You're a man of many talents.”

     “… What do you want, Prompto?”

     “Nothing, nothing! Just complimenting you on your… acting skills.”

Noctis snorted and turned his head away, staring out to the pasture. He was sitting in the driver's seat, his elbow resting on the door frame. Ignis looked between the two of them before crossing his arms. Prompto smiled up at him and waved a hand in a circle.

     “You know, sometimes I forget that you're a really fun guy! Always glad to see I've been proven wrong.”

     “What, pray tell, made you say that?”

     Prompto grinned. “Let's just say I had an epiphany.”

As they talked, Gladio calmly walked around to the driver side and leaned against the car next to Noctis.

     “You two are in a good mood,” Gladio stated, hooking a thumb in his pocket.

     “We found a way to pass the time,” Noctis replied coolly. He was covering his smile with his half-curled hand.

     Gladio raised his brows and stared down at the prince. “And how's that?”

     Noctis gave a nonchalant shrug. “Just watching some videos on my phone.”

Gladio hummed thoughtfully, but the two of them were interrupted by Prompto's laughter. The gunner scrambled across the backseats, leaning away from Ignis' suspicious staring. The advisor narrowed his eyes at Prompto, leaning back only when he knew he wasn't going to get any answers. He then gave a resigned sigh.

     “We should probably hit the road before we lose more daylight. The next town is a ways over.”

     “I call next drive!” Prompto announced, thrusting his finger into the air as Noctis climbed into the backseat.

Once Noctis was out of the way, Gladio took his seat. Soon, the small group was heading down the road in their luxury car. Noctis leaned his head back and slumped in his seat, ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice. Gladio stared out to the passing trees.

Prompto leaned over and whispered to Noctis with a wide smile on his face. Noctis pulled his phone back out, unlocked it, and handed it over to Prompto. Thankfully, the video was still open, and Prompto lowered the volume as he played it once again. Right when onscreen Ignis readied himself, Prompto paused the video and turned the volume as high as it would go. He pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing and reached the phone forward. Gladio and Ignis glanced towards the device, and before either of them could react, Prompto's thumb tapped the screen.

Onscreen Ignis unleashed his entirely too convincing chocobo cry.

The Ignis driving, however, couldn't form any words! Instead, he could only gasp loudly and glance back towards Prompto and Noctis. He was still speechless as everyone else in the car started laughing.

For the first time since they started this journey, Ignis deeply considered tuck and rolling out of the Regalia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, one day, I will find a consistent format for this story. I keep promising, but I think I'm getting closer.


	6. BONUS – Making a Scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this a 03:30AM bonus chapter. Enjoy the music. [ [Long/Extended Version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoSAJeVwg8) | [Short/Story Version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZsoPoeFQjc) ]

Another town, a port market. It was bustling with a view of the water not too far out. Prompto ran towards a stand with his arms up, cheering as he saw the arrangement of fruit. “Finally, something filling,” he said. His tone was reverent as he took two _giant_ strawberries into his hand.

Gladio followed close behind with Noctis bringing up the rear. Ignis walked slowly through the open market, looking at the different stands and admiring the wear of the locals. He watched as a couple wandered by in their lightweight white clothes. Surely, the four of them stood out with their black and dark coloured clothes. Ignis pushed up his glasses at the thought.

Noctis kept his hands to himself as he entered the main circle of stands. He looked at the hanging food, the displayed wares, and regarded them all with a neutral expression. The vendors were laughing together and talking in their mother tongues. Noctis almost felt tempted to find out what the language was, but he didn't want to interrupt. One of the vendors was blindly whisking something in a bowl. He moved with great skill and equal confidence. He probably did this a hundred times before. Noctis stopped to watch in fascination and hardly registered Prompto purposefully bumping into him.

The blond smiled at his friend, but when he saw that Noctis' attention was secured elsewhere, Prompto backed away. He shrugged up at Gladio before looking around.

        “There's so much stuff here,” Prompto mused, voice one of wonder.

        “I know. It's a pretty nice place.”

        “Just smell that clean air.”

        “Breathe it in. We won't be getting any of this any time soon.”

        “I hear ya.”

Prompto swung his arms, clapping his hands together when they met at his front. After a few steps, he spotted an arrangement of boxes set atop a sand covered, burgundy rug. Leaning against the boxes were two acoustic guitars. Prompto smiled and jogged closer to them. After finding the owner (a vendor standing under an awning) and asking permission, Prompto grabbed one of the guitars and waved Gladio over.

        “You still know how to play?”

        “I think I can manage.”

        “Then I know just the song. Wanna be lead or support?”

        “Take the lead, kid.”

        Prompto grinned. “Roger that.”

Prompto took his seat atop a rectangular crate. Gladio sat beside him on a two-stack of boxes. Prompto looked up to Gladio, biting his lip as he started to play. Gladio nodded his head to the beat, smiling a bit when he recognised the song. He joined in smoothly, and Prompto ducked his head.

Noctis soon wandered over towards the sound of music and pulled out his phone when he saw his friends with the guitars. Prompto lifted up his head and gasped, looking to Gladio.

        “Wait, wait. We gotta wait for Ignis then!” Prompto jutted out his hands towards Gladio and Noctis, waving his arms slightly.

        Gladio lifted up his head, resting his right arm over the groove of the guitar. “'ey, Ignis! Get over here already!”

Prompto ducked his head in embarrassment and looked around. He quietly apologised to other people who were staring, but no one seemed to mind. Noctis, all the while, was taking pictures with his phone. He lifted his arm to get a different angle of Prompto and Gladio. He snorted when Prompto took notice and started posing. Gladio, a second later, started flexing his muscles.

        “Show offs.”

        “Who doesn't enjoy a little spotlight?” Prompto teased. His attention diverted when Ignis showed up.

        “Better get your camera,” Noctis muttered, tilting his head towards his advisor, and Ignis did just that.

Once Noctis and Ignis were recording, Prompto and Gladio started playing again. This time, the start up was more unified now that Gladio knew what they were playing. A crowd gathered around as they played.

Prompto tapped the air with his foot, and Gladio swayed his head as he played his part. Ignis stood stock still as he took a video; Noctis began strafing to the right and ducked under Ignis' arms as he got a more rounded shot of his companions playing. Ignis glanced over towards the prince and shook his head. Other than that, he didn't react. A small part of him almost wanted to stick his foot out and see if Noctis could dodge it. Almost. Maybe some other time.

When he wasn't watching the performance, Ignis was taken by the crowd and glanced over to the people that watched Prompto and Gladio play. Amazing — even some of the vendors had stopped! The two guitarists though, they were in their own world. They played with such a casual unity, and the lightheartedness of the song was uplifting.

Whenever Prompto tapped on his guitar three times, he and Gladio bobbed their heads at the same time. Gladio noticed this the second time around, and he couldn't help but smile. He kept a watch on Prompto's face before ducking his head down and watching his own fingers pluck at the strings. When he brought his attention back up, Prompto was staring in his direction. The blond lifted up his eyes to meet Gladio's. The two shared a nod and smiled.

As the song neared its end, Prompto leaned his head back and stared up at the sky as he played. His eyes closed a moment later. Gladio turned his head and looked past the crowd towards the port and ocean. He tucked the guitar closer to his body before going on a two second riff of his own. Prompto shook his head as he tapped the guitar again. (Three taps, three shakes, of course.)

Prompto opened his eyes and looked over to Gladio quizzically. The taller male just laughed silently. Even as this went on, they stayed synchronised. When the song finally wound down, Prompto and Gladio lowered their guitars away. The drawn crowd applauded as the two males slapped their hands together and pulled in for a quasi-hug.

Ignis and Noctis ended their videos and clapped as well. They moved closer to their friends to congratulate them before saying they should head on. Prompto and Gladio neatly set the guitars down and waved at everyone that had watched them. Prompto waved with both hands. He brought them together and bowed at the guitars' owner in silent thanks.

The small group of outsiders continued walking through the port town to buy supplies, but now they all had the same song passing through their heads.

A beautiful song for a beautiful town. How fitting.


	7. An Unexpected Inconvenience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the action!

It was a long ride to the next province. They took several breaks along the way, snapped photos, did some favours here and there, and hunted when they could. They used their time wisely and were smart about resting up, but no amount of time management or car games could make the trip go any faster. Granted, they had also done a lot of exploring, so that didn't necessarily work in their favour.

They were two-thirds of the way to their destination when they saw the road ahead was blocked by cars. Ignis parked the Regalia and sighed, crossing his arms over the steering wheel. Everyone else looked around, trying to spot a reason for the road block. It was an inconvenience, sure, but the quartet was immediately suspicious.

     “We should probably do some scouting,” Gladio stated, reaching forward and tapping his hands on the back of Ignis' seat.

     “The two of us?”

     “Stretch your legs, Iggy. C'mon.”

Ignis parted his lips but resisted another urge to sigh. He and Gladio opened their doors and stepped out of the car. Ignis took a moment to adjust his blazer and peer around the area. Calmly, he looked to Prompto and Noctis.

     “Wait here.”

     “We'll be back before you know it,” Gladio added.

Noctis waved his hand and watched the other two leave. He brought his feet up to his seat and pushed up until he was sitting on the car door. Prompto crouched on his seat and hopped out of the car. He let out a little grunt of effort as his feet hit the ground. He turned and looked back towards the seats, raising his brows curiously. No footprints. Good! No reason for Ignis to yell at him. Well, not yell. _Scold_ him.

Noctis pulled out his phone and scrolled through the pictures he had taken. In a moment of curiosity, he switched to the radio on his phone, touch scrolling through the frequencies until he found one that was live.

     Prompto rubbed his hands together. “You know what we haven't done in a while? We haven't trained together.”

     “We _fight_ together,” Noctis said dryly.

     Prompto let his hands fall and slap against his thighs. “Yeah, but that isn't the _same_ , y'know! We should have, like… an old-fashioned scrap. Just the two of us!”

     “If you wanted to go out on a date, coulda just said so.”

     “C'mon, Noct. I'm being serious!” Prompto frowned at his friend and leaned against the passenger door, opposite to where Noctis was sitting.

All the while, the prince never moved his gaze from his phone screen, but he could see Prompto clearly in his peripheral vision. Prompto was pouting, and the expression never failed to make Noctis smile to himself. Right now, the radio host was describing the weather in two cities nearby, so Noctis set his phone down into his lap. He leaned forward and crossed his arms over his knees.

     “Hand-to-hand or with weapons?”

     Prompto lit up and shifted his arms. He placed his hands on the door and braced down his weight as he rocked forward onto the balls of his feet. “I'm glad you asked. I'm thinking we could do a little hand-to-hand. You can use your warp ability too.”

     “Ooh, challenging.”

     “Could be fun!” Prompto pushed away and brought his hands behind his head. “This gives us something to do, _and_ we won't have to move far from the car.”

Noctis hummed, feigning thought, and hung his head as he stared down at his phone.

_'Telltale signs of rain clouds are moving in from the East end, so if you're on Highway 47 near the Lockhart exit, expect some showers.'_

     “Hey, Prom,” Noctis began.

     “Yeah?”

     “What highway is this?”

“Uh…” Prompto dropped his hands and looked around for any signage. He jogged back the way they came. The sign there only had the mile number. He turned and went the other way, dipping his head as he ran ahead towards the barricade of cars. He found a smaller sign that had broken off and was lying on the road. He stared at it curiously, wondering if another car must have hit it. After reading the sign, Prompto spun around and cupped his hands over his mouth:

     “The Trepe Expressway!”

“Trepe Expressway,” Noctis mumbled to himself. He yawned, grabbed his phone, and spun around to plant his feet firmly on the ground. He waved his friend to come back over, and soon, Prompto was back at his side. Noctis threw his arm around the blond's shoulder and squeezed in for a selfie.

     “What's that for?” Prompto asked after the picture was taken.

     “Just wanted to get a good 'before' shot. Gonna take another one after I kicked your ass.”

     “You're pretty confident,” Prompto replied, shoving the prince. He shook his head and walked towards the guard rail. “C'mon, Mr. Tough Guy. Show me what you got,” he said as he hopped over to the other side.

     Noctis smirked and followed after Prompto. “That's _Prince_ Mr. Tough Guy,” he teased.

     “ _Yeah, yeah!”_ Prompto shouted, tossing his hands up in the air. “Less talk, more fight!”

     “Sure. Let me put my phone down.”

On a whim, Noctis checked his phone before setting it down. There was a new Snapchat notification from Gladio. He tapped on it and furrowed his brows as he tried to decipher the image. After a momentary silence, Prompto took a step forward and looked at his friend curiously.

     “Hey, Noct. Everything okay?”

     “C'mere,” Noctis muttered. He gave a weak motion of his hand and the blond trotted closer.

Noctis held the phone between the two of them, and Prompto tilted his head as he stared at the screen.

     “Whoa… What is that?”


	8. Off the Beaten Path.

Gladiolus and Ignis headed down the gentle slope away from the Regalia and the blocked off expressway. Ignis dug his heels into the ground to keep himself from slipping as they made their descent. Gladio scanned over the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary. There were a few patches of flowers; there was a broken piece of railing amongst one of them.

The two men passed by the item quietly. Afterward, Gladio let out a sigh; his posture relaxed a bit.

     “What do you think happened?” he asked.

     Ignis was a couple of steps behind him. The advisor took a moment to look around the area as well. “It's hard to say. There are no signs of a battle, and yet there are empty cars blocking our advancement.” Ignis paused and then shook his head. “No, I can't fathom what happened here.”

     “Guess we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. Just might find something.”

     Ignis pushed up his glasses and moved to walk abreast Gladio. “Indeed.”

They continued forward until they came to the flat face of a loess. Gladio placed his hands on his hips. He and Ignis both looked to their right towards another pathway that led around the landform. They looked to each other, and Ignis motioned a hand towards the brush.

     “You know, in an eerie kind of way, this is kinda pretty,” Gladio said as they made their way over.

     “I didn't know your aesthetic was 'apocalyptic',” Ignis replied coolly. He reached up and pulled a branch out of Gladio's way.

     The bodyguard ducked his head and walked under Ignis' hand. “I like to think I'm full of surprises.”

     Ignis smiled to himself as he lifted his head and looked up at the overarching trees and twisted vines. “And so you are...”

They walked around in silence, listening and watching out for anything strange. Or even people wandering aimlessly about. When the path widened, Gladio came to Ignis' side. He cracked his knuckles; Ignis took the chance to clean his glasses.

The light started to dim as they continued forward. The branches overhead pulled closer together and vines winded through them like twine. Gladio stared up at the trees and paused. Ignis looked over to his companion. Instead of asking, he lifted his head up to see what was wrong.

Nothing. Just the thick vegetation and thin vines… Thin branches, thick vines… He frowned as well and focused. The branches, these trees, they were—

     “They're alive,” Ignis stated.

     Gladio lowered his head and looked to Ignis. He spoke in a low tone, “We need to find a different way.”

Ignis nodded. He motioned back the way they came, and the two men backtracked with lighter steps. The sunlight peered through the natural spacing of branches and vines. Gladio sighed and scanned the area. Soon, he found another pathway. There were light, bare patches of raw earth and gravel between the short grass. Gladio reached back and pat Ignis' arm, motioning for him to follow.

     “I might need you to Scan ahead of us,” Gladio instructed. When Ignis looked at him inquisitively, the bodyguard just shrugged. “Call it a hunch.”

     “Alright. Just tell me when.”

     Gladio lifted his head. The trees ahead began to space out over their head. He pointed up. “When we're in the clear.”

     “Right.”

They crept along silently, careful to avoid any fallen branches or earth-buried vines. Looking to the right, they could see another path covered by a tunnel of branches. The tunnel became smaller until it was almost buried. Gladio squinted his eyes and saw that the branches were pulsing. He shook his head.

When the path widened up and the trees were no longer on immediate sides of them, Gladio said, “Do your thing, Iggy.” and hung back. Ignis continued for a few more steps. He looked left then right with cool, steady motions. There was no immediate danger that he could see, but just to be on the safe side, he'd do a full Scan.

Ignis brought both hands up. His middle fingers touched the sides of his glasses, and a warm feeling coiled up from his core. He could envision threads of power springing from the coil and extending out toward his arms. The threads thinned further as they reached up to his fingers. He took in a deep breath to center himself. Ignis took a step forward with his right foot and stretched out the corresponding arm. With his eyes closed, Ignis could see the world in coloured outlines. Anything living moved like radio frequencies; their colours changed depending on movement or life force.

He turned his head towards the right. He could see the branch tunnel as a tangle of steady beating orange lines. To the left, there were darker, hidden lines of orange. Up ahead, he could see something outlined in black. Ignis opened his eyes and saw the same information imposed on his eyeglass lenses. He lowered his hands away slowly, and Gladio approached.

     Gladio looked to Ignis, who slightly turned his head. “There's something big just around this loess,” Ignis reported. He crossed his arms. “But I can't make heads or tails of what it is from here.”

     “Hm, alright.” Gladio brought his right hand up towards his shoulder and began curling his fingers. His sword materialised, and the grip fit perfectly into the space against his palm. Gladio's shoulder tilted down as the massive sword rested there. “Let's go figure out what it is.”

     Ignis swung his hands back; on the forward movement, his daggers appeared in his grip. “After you.”

They rounded the landform together. They didn't move as quietly, but they made sure to avoid any branches or vines that laid in their way. Before Ignis' Scan faded away, he saw three colours spike up in front of him seconds before a black blur shot in front of them. He stilled suddenly, and Gladio nearly bumped into him.

     “Something wrong?”

     After a couple of seconds in silence, Ignis shook his head. “My apologies. Let's continue.”

The tangle of branches from before finally emerged from the earth and lifted up towards the loess' grassy side. Both men hopped over it, and Ignis followed the condensed branch tunnel with his eyes. It fit along the landform and was curving its way towards… something. Probably the source in all of this.

They continued closer, weapons in hand, until they saw the massive beast embedded inside of the wall. Shock threaded through their silence as they moved to stand before the monster. After a moment, Gladio stabbed his sword into the ground and pulled out his phone.

     “Hope I get reception out here,” he mumbled to himself.

He saw Ignis turn to face him in the camera view, and the advisor soon stepped out of the way. Though he was, unbeknownst to him, still in frame. Gladio's main concern was fixed on the thing ahead of them. Its massive claw moved slowly. Dozens of vines, a handful of tightly condensed branch tunnels, and countless number of branches stuck into and jutted out from its body. Probably the most concerning of it all were the jagged pieces of metal also sticking out from this creature.

Gladio took a picture and added a quick message:

           **Get Over Here Quick. Follow the Fireworks.**

     After sending it, Gladio stuffed his phone away. “Gonna need a signal!” He called to Ignis.

The advisor nodded, but before he could shoot off a spell, the beast began to stir.

     “Dammit,” Gladio grunted. He reached out his hand and beckoned his sword towards him. “Time for Plan B.”


	9. BONUS – Kick the Moon.

     “Okay, one more time. You guys ready?”

Noctis held his phone in both hands at chest level. He raised his brows as he looked to the men across from him. Ignis placed his hands on his hips and looked to his left at Gladio and Prompto. Prompto bounced in place and shook out his hands with a smile.

     “Yup!” he shouted.

     Gladio had his left hand on his hip; his right gently pushed at his neck, trying to relieve a crick. “I think I got one more in me. We're not all as nimble as _somebody_ here.”

He leaned forward and stared pointedly in Ignis' direction. The advisor crossed his arms in front of himself. His smile was small, humble, but the rest of his presence radiated self-satisfaction.

     “I'm surprised, Gladio, and here you're supposed to be the most exercised of us all.”

     Gladio shook out his right hand dismissively. “Doesn't count for whatever it is you've got going on.” He pointed his thumb into Prompto's chest. “If anything, I expected that out of squirrel boy here.”

     “Of all the animals in all of Eos… You choose 'squirrel.'” Prompto gave a resigned sigh.

     Gladio smirked. “Chocobo doesn't really apply here.”

     “Guys,” Noctis stated,  still staring at the three.

     Ignis' smile grew a bit as he faced Noctis. “Sorry, Highness. We're ready now.”

     “Then spread out so I can get a good shot.” With that, Noctis lifted up his phone to his face.

Gladio snorted before dropping his hands down. He waved for Prompto to scoot down. The gunner bounced to the right, and Ignis just calmly stepped out of the way. Noctis took a few steps back to make sure all three of them were in frame.

     “On one,” Noctis said. He let out a deep breath before continuing, “Three.”

Prompto knelt down until he was almost on one knee. He smiled in determination towards Noctis' camera. Gladio brought his feet a bit closer together and held his arms out at his side. Ignis took a runner's position without letting his hands touch the ground. Noctis hesitated a moment before getting a better angle on the three. He stood to the right, near and diagonal from Ignis.

     “Two… One.”

Gladio's body tensed at the last second before Noctis counted off 'one'. When the designated number was called, Gladio jumped upwards, tucked his body in, and landed hard. On the tuck, his hands slapped the back of his legs, drawing them in closer. He landed in a squat with his arms straight out in front of him. Noctis went “Oooh” when a ring of dirt rolled away from Gladio's feet.

Prompto went a few seconds after. He was smiling just before he made his move. He ran forward for some quick steps before breaking into a gainer. His flip was more of a quick spin. When he landed, his right hand touched down on the ground. He tried to balance himself and rocked unsteadily on the balls of his feet.

Finally, Ignis was the last one to make his move. He squatted down lower, moving almost unnaturally slow before he sprung upward. He used one hand to hold his glasses as he arched into a flashkick. Ignis landed on his left foot and coolly swung his right foot forward soon after.

     Noctis snorted and ended the video. He turned his phone vertical; his screen transitioned to the video editor. “Show off.”

Prompto sprang upward. He almost lost his balance and swung his arms to catch himself. Gladio stepped forward to press his hand against Prompto's back. The blond began to straighten himself up. Just as he was right on his feet, he spread out his arms and leaned back. “Trust fall.”

     Gladio snorted and braced his arms to catch the blond. “It'd help if you were heavier.”

     “Keep dreaming,” Noctis said. He smirked at his friends. “He's doomed to be a twink forever.”

     “ _Hey!”_ Prompto quickly looked to Noctis and pointed accusingly at him. “Also, gonna need that video.” He wagged his finger with each word.

     Noctis grunted in response. “Sending it to Cindy first.”

     “Oh. Go ahead, take your time.” Prompto spoke quickly. He laced his fingers together over his stomach.

     Gladio stared down at him. “You mind?”

     Prompto leaned his head back. “I thought I wasn't heavy.”

Noctis scrolled through the video, trimming it to be shorter and adding some effects. Ignis strolled over and kept his gaze on Noctis' phone. He looked scholarly, much like a teacher inspecting a student's work, but he didn't make any comments as he stood at the prince's side.

     But Noctis did. “Pretty impressive.”

     “Thank you, Highness.”

     “Makes me wonder where you learned all of that.”

     Ignis side glanced to Noctis. “Are you asking for a lesson, Your Highness.”

     Noctis scoffed and added a caption to the video. “Maybe, maybe not.”

     “You know, this would be a fine opportunity to learn something new. Perhaps I–”

     “ _Enough_. Forget it. Sorry I asked.”

Noctis closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He sent the video off to Cindy and shoved his phone in his pocket as he walked away from his advisor. Ignis just shook his head with a slight laugh before following after the prince.


	10. Live Another Day.

The Regalia tore down the expressway. They sped past the road block of cars and kept going forward, determined to get to the next town.

For the first twenty minutes, Ignis kept glancing over his shoulder towards an injured Gladio in the backseat. Prompto's hands were bloody; he was screaming – _screaming_ – at Gladio to stay with them. Noctis' voice shook as he told Prompto to “shut up and stay calm”.

A Cure spell was pushing his limits, but Noctis tried anyway. He would have pushed forward, called upon a power and knowledge he didn't have, but he would have _demanded_ the Powers That Be to be on his side right this moment.

At some point, Noctis was leaning over Ignis, steering the wheel with a pointed squint to the darkened road. Ignis leaned back his seat to get to Gladio. His magick was stronger – better.

Ten minutes later, the screaming stopped; the panic ended. There was a dullness and a silence that filled the car. Noctis' whole body ached right down to his soul. Prompto sat in the back seat with Gladio's head in his lap. His own head was tilted to the side, and he stared at the road like a broken doll.

Metal, so much metal. An unnatural scream that pierced the entire world. Conjured people crawled from the ground, moving about like strange little puppets.

It was easy to blind the monolith creature. Its devilish, sickly swipes no longer had any effects. The puppets were blinded by light. Sunlight was easy to get. Cut away the branches and shine the light.

Prompto had the idea to use their phones. Phones. What a strange key to success. Noctis' phone was crushed during the battle. Gladio's stomach had been slashed in. The prince figured himself lucky.

Another dizzying hour passed. Ignis dropped the younger two off at an inn, and after _much_ coercion to Prompto, the advisor drove Gladio to the clinic alone.

Prompto paced; Noctis prodded his phone. Idly at first, then impatiently. He threw his phone down in frustration. The pillow was the next thing to go. He and Prompto flopped down onto their beds simultaneously. There was no talking.

The room light was still on. It was off a blink of an eye – several hours – later. The sunlight had filtered in by now. Noctis rolled to his side and saw a box sitting on the bedside table. Turning to his other side, Gladio was sitting up in bed, fiddling with Prompto's gun and cleaning the individual parts.

     Gladio looked over to the prince and smirked. “You look like shit.”

Said the man bandaged every which way. Noctis rolled his eyes to hide his concern. Gladio looked back to the gun parts.

     “Iggy got a present for you. Better open it.”

     “Present?”

Must've been the box. He wondered where his old phone was and quickly remembered smashing it against the floor. He reached for the box.

It was a new phone. Completely sleek. It looked blacker than his last one, if that was possible. Noctis sighed and rolled to the edge of the bed. He picked through the pieces of his phone and pulled his SIM card from the back. How many minutes mindlessly passed as he reinstalled apps on his phone, transferred data, and set up everything just the way he wanted?

Too many. Prompto and Ignis weren't back yet.

His Snapchat had eight – holy hell, _eight_ – new messages. He pressed his phone to his chest and sighed through his nose. It needed a name.

He chose 'Diabolos' for now. He'd decide if he hated it later.

Off to his right, parts clicked into place. Gladio had a smirk on his face as the prince tapped through his notifications.

Cindy sent two things: a picture and a video.

The picture was a photo of her from behind sitting on something grey and metal. Her arms were thrown up in the air, fingers in the rock on horn sign. The caption had emoticons that matched her mood.

**[fire, thumbs up, sun, thumbs up fire] Queen of the World!**

Noctis huffed through his nose and wondered where she was. He could make out a city in the background. He saved the picture for later and moved onto her video.

**  
Now what kinda……… ???**

_Cindy walked with the camera aimed at her face. Her lips were turned to the side, and her expression was unimpressed to the max.  
     She stopped and stared at the camera for two beats. _

_The angle changed to a car. Sleek, red. Glossy red. It looked brand new, but as Cindy moved to the front, there was a large wad of gum  
     stuck between the wheel and the hubcap._

_A bungee cord connected the wheel to some hidden part of the car in the undercarriage. The camera came back to Cindy._

          “ _I just got this customer today. Reminder: leave repair work to the professionals.” She sighed loudly, irritably._

 

Noctis smirked as he swiped through the other notifications.

Luna…

Noctis' heart leapt up into his throat. He hadn't heard from her in a… since she… He shook his head, dumbfounded, and finally registered what was in front of him.

She was standing in frame with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Noctis didn't know what the names were, but there had to be five different kinds. Her head was tilted, and her expression looked peaceful, kind. He would have dared to say there was touches of concern, but he didn't want to reach.

 **  
You all crossed my mind today. Be safe.** punctuated with a white flower before and after.

  
Noctis sighed through his nose. He almost wanted to send her a photo right now. It wouldn't be right, maybe when they were all together. Eh, he'd think about it.

One was from a few days ago, something Gladio had sent. A selfie with him and a heavy lifter. As she squatted, she smiled up at the camera. Gladio was pulling his goofiest model face.

**  
Think She Might Be The One. [lovestruck emoji]**

  
Noctis snorted but saved the picture to his phone anyway. Before continuing with the checking his notifications, he went to organise his pictures.

     “What happened to that dead lifter you met?” Noctis asked in a low voice.

     Gladio sighed wistfully. “She's in a closed marriage. Told her I didn't wanna upset the missus and just went about my routine.”

     “What a gentleman,” Noctis mumbled, smiling as he moved things about.

Midway through, he went back through his messages. He saved what he wanted and cleared out everything else. He turned his head towards Gladio, who was aiming the gun and staring down the iron sight.

     “Ever think about using guns?” Noctis asked offhandedly.

     “Nah, that's not my Job,” Gladio began as he set the gun away. He picked a clean cloth and began polishing the gun. “This time.”

Noctis hummed and watched his bodyguard take meticulous care of the gun. Gladio smiled and grabbed his phone from under his pillow. He unlocked it and tossed it underhand over towards Noctis.

     “'ere. Take a photo for the chocobo. Want him to see my handiwork.”

     Noctis huffed out a laugh. “Sure. Pose how you want.”

And so Gladio did. He drew up one leg and set his elbow atop his knee. He held up the gun, cocked his brow, and gave the camera a sultry look. Noctis snorted hard, hard enough to hurt his own nose, but took the picture anyway. He leaned closer towards the edge of the bed and tossed it carefully to Gladio.

     “Wuss throw,” the older man teased.

     “It's a good photo. Don't wanna risk losing it from a bad throw.”

     “Fair enough.”

Noctis leaned back into his seat and smiled when Gladio started laughing.

     “Oh man. I don't think I'll be able to think of a good caption for this one,” Gladio said.

     “I believe in you.” The covers shifted and Noctis pulled himself up from the bed. “Want something from the front?”

     “Anything hot if they got it. Food, drink – both. I'm not picky.”

Noctis halfheartedly saluted as he headed towards the door. As soon as the door clicked closed, Gladio's face was overtaken by awe and soon changed into a satisfied, devious smile. He laughed to himself and brought his phone up close.

     “This should be good.”


	11. On the Road Again.

Even though Gladio's injuries weren't terribly severe, Ignis wanted to err on the side of caution. He dragged either Noctis or Prompto with him when he went out on an errand run. Gladio laughed and said that it could be considered training.

     “It _could_ be considered torture too,” Prompto mumbled.

     Noctis smirked from where he was laying on the bed. “Yeah, look at his twig arms. We're probably violating a labor law.”

     Prompto swung his attention over to his friend. “Wow. Rude. Seriously. _Rude_.”

     The prince shrugged up his shoulders. “My bad.”

     “In any case,” Ignis interrupted. He motioned a hand towards Noctis. “Highness, you're coming with me this time.”

     “Aye, aye.” Noctis rocked up into a proper sitting position before pulling himself up onto his feet.

     “Go do something that I would do,” Gladio called after them. He smiled when Noctis rolled his eyes.

Prompto came over to join Gladio on the bed. He flopped over the bodyguard's legs and pulled out his phone to flip through the pictures. He grimaced at the photos he had accidentally taken of the monolith monster. Not that a lot of them were bad – the creature was just ugly. He ended up sending some to Gladio.

To Cindy, he captioned the photo with **him big!!!** and two horrified faces on either side. Prompto flashed his phone to Gladio, showing off the captioned picture. Gladio snorted a laugh, and the gunner took that as a seal of approval before shooting the message off to Cindy.

Gladio sent one of the photos off to two of his 'associates' that he never did specify. The mystery of it all made Prompto incredibly curious.

     “I'll poke your injury,” Prompto threatened.

     “Great threat for grade school. Plus it doesn't hurt as much.”

     After a beat of silence, Prompto asked, “Can I see it?”

     “Sure. Healed pretty well already.”

Gladio turned his upper body towards the right, letting Prompto inquisitively take in the number of wounds he had acquired from the fight. Not many of them would turn into scars. Shame, the one under his ribs curving down to under his belly button would have been pretty bad ass to hold onto.

His phone vibrated in his hand and a notification slid down from the top of his screen.  


**SNAPCHAT**

**NOCTOLEPTIC » how do u do this ...**

  
Oh? Gladio tapped the notification before it disappeared and waited for the app load. In the meantime, Prompto drew away from his friend's side and once again went prone over Gladio's lap.

     “You'd make an annoying cat,” Gladio mumbled, patting the blond on the back. The app loaded up and a video was the first thing he could see.

  
           _There were three duffle bags stacked together on the ground; they were in frame for a couple seconds before the view_  
 _focused on Noctis' unamused face._

_After a cut, the prince had one of the bags on his shoulder. The strap of another could be visible on his shoulder with  
          the second duffle just behind him._

          “ _Hurry, Your Highness. We've more areas to hit,” said Ignis off screen._

_Noctis just sighed heavily and closed his eyes, brows twitching together._

  
Gladio knew that look. That was Noctis' reevaluating his life choices look. Too bad. At least he was being active for now.

     “What's Noctis sighing about?” Prompto asked, scrolling through his phone still. He debated on playing a game.

     Gladio let out a little huff of a laugh and tapped New Snap to send back. “Same ol', same ol'.” Gladio flexed his left arm and took a picture to shoot back at Noctis.

**  
How Do You Think? [emoji with sunglasses]**

  
Prompto watched Gladio before shaking his head and tapping onto a game to play. Gladio leaned forward to watch, crossing his arms over his thighs. A couple of minutes later, he got a snap back.

**  
stop showing off**

  
Noctis took a picture of his middle finger aimed at the sky; his finger just barely blocked the Sun. Gladio laughed and turned his phone towards Prompto, who glanced over quickly before laughing to himself.

     “What's got him so grumpy?”

     “I dunno,” Gladio lied. He locked his phone and set it off to the side. “But something tells me, he might be jealous.”

In the hour of game playing and shooting the breeze, Prompto and Gladio checked their phones. Ignis had sent them both a message.

Noctis was leaning against the driver door of the Regalia. His arms were crossed, and his head was leaned forward. The photograph was actually genuinely good on its own.

**20 minutes, gentlemen. Let's hit the road.**

  
Gladio sighed. He and Prompto pulled themselves away from the bed. After making sure the room was in order, they passed through the front of the inn for a snack and something to drink. Soon after, they headed outside.

The Regalia pulled up to the front of the entrance smoothly. Noctis leaned over the passenger door and up nodded his chin towards his companions.

     “Wanna ride?”

     “Pretty cool, Noct,” Prompto praised. “Too bad _you're_ not the one driving the car.”

     Gladio raised his hands, one of which was holding a hot drink. “I'm not criticising. Just gettin' in the car.”

     “That makes two of you,” Noctis said, pointedly looking to Prompto.

Prompto stuck out his tongue and pulled down his bottom eyelid before hopping in the back of the car. Ignis took a moment to check that they had everything, but setting his navigation to their final destination:

Tenebrae, just a little bit longer from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for joining me on this really silly adventure. Now we'll be moving onto the next big thing!


	12. BONUS – Let It Snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? Gotta end the way we started! Thanks again, everyone!

Winter in Tenebrae was an incredible sight. The entire kingdom had a stunning allure. It looked like something right out of a story. Luna decided to take the four out to see the sights. Maybe forget things for a while before diplomacy and war and possible aspects of vengeance were put on the table.

Prompto bought not one but three different scarves to wrap around himself and stave away the biting chill. Gladio bought a trench coat; Ignis refrained from getting anything lavish, and since he was “forbidden” to be a worrywart during Holidays, he ended up buying nothing. Noctis got a new coat for himself, gifted, and in return, he bought Luna another pair of gloves.

     “These are decent – better than the ones you have.”

She read through his dry sarcasm and appreciated both the gift and his concern. When they arrived back at base, Luna said that dinner wouldn't be for a little while. So, in lieu of waiting around inside, they all wandered around outside. The boys checked the phones within minutes of each other. All of them received an enthusiastic picture from Cindy.

She and her father were sitting on top of their tow truck that had been especially tricked out for the season. Cindy had her mouth covered, and she was staring up in awe. Her father, dear ol' Paw Paw, was holding a bottle with overflowing foam. He was also looking up at the ceiling.

The light above them was half blown out. His cork must have knocked something loose.

**  
Season's Greetings, y'all!!! Be safe!!** with festive emojis and sparkles decorated the caption.

  
Prompto headed towards the nearest light source to take a picture. The others followed and crowded behind him to stay in his shot. It may have been a major cockblock on their part, but the photo came out nice.

Luna took them down past the frozen lake, and Noctis nonchalantly linked his arm in hers. The others hung back to give the two some privacy. They started talking about some of their favourite wintertime memories. As Prompto was talking, they all looked up and saw Luna spinning and dragging poor Noctis along. Something happened, but they all missed the initial context. The sight, however, was still pretty funny without it.

The group lapped around the front half of the estate and steadily made their way back. Luna pushed Noctis playfully and wandered away from the group of men. Almost thoughtfully, she reached out her hand and brushed Prompto on the shoulder.

She walked ahead of them and reached down to grab a large ball of snow between her hands.

     “Ever make a snowball arch?” She asked them.

Gladio raised a hand; the others shook their heads no. Luna smiled and lifted the snowball in acknowledgement.

     “Watch this.”

Noctis had a feeling he should reach for his phone. He pulled off his gloves and handed them to Gladio so he could navigate his menus.

Luna began building a loosely packed ball. She tossed it up a bit to test its composition. Once it was to her liking, she took a few steps back. After two testing bounces up and to her palms, she threw the snowball in the air. It twisted wonderfully. Extra snow loosened from its shape and followed Luna's hands.

But once her arms were out at her sides, more snow wisped around her. She switched places with Prompto. Before he realised what happened, the still packed snowball crashed down over his head. Luna laughed from her new position, standing where Prompto once stood, and clasped her hands over her mouth. Gladio and Noctis joined her laughter; Ignis just clapped with something of a smile on his face.

     “How did you do that?” Prompto asked. His voice hit uneven pitches and trembled as he shook out snow that snuck past his scarves and down his clothes.

     She walked over to join him and began helping him out. She gently patted him on the back. “Now that's a secret, but come on. I'll make it up to you.”

     Ignis smiled at the sight. “I feel we should all go inside,” he stated coolly.

He nodded his head to Gladio and Noctis before allowing them to walk in front of him. Noctis shakily edited his video and sent a reply to Cindy.

**  
right back at ya**

  
He'd send a copy to everyone else after he was warmed up. Maybe even after a good meal and more quality time with his friends.


End file.
